nuclear-news

On March 10, North Korea launched two “Scud” tactical ballistic missiles from North Hwanghae Province, the North Korean border region just north of Seoul, toward the Sea of Japan. Then on March 17, the North Korean military test-launched longer-ranged ballistic missiles from South Pyongan Province, near the Yellow Sea, across the Korean peninsula. The missiles flew 500 miles, again landing in the Sea of Japan. The latest launches took place early on Thursday morning local time, 20 minutes apart, according to a statement from the Republic of Korea (South Korea) joint chiefs of staff.

John Grisafi, director of intelligence for North Korean watchdog site NK News, believes the miss
iles launched Thursday were likely the Rodong-1 missile. “It’s beyond any known Scud variant’s range,” he said.

North Korea built the Rodong-1, introduced in 1990, based on Scud designs obtained from Egypt and China, with modifications to increase its range.

Previous launches of North Korean ballistic missiles have come from the east coast of the country toward the sea. Analysts believe that the cross-country missile launches show that the North Korean military is confident in the reliability of their missile systems.

The launches coincided with the joint US-South Korean military exercise Key Resolve, which ends today. Those exercises were accompanied by a threat from North Korea to launch a nuclear strike on New York City and carry out other attacks on the US mainland as well as threatening to invade South Korea “with an ultra-precision blitzkrieg strike of the Korean style.” The nuclear test earlier this year and North Korea’s continued missile tests led the Republic of Korea’s government to officially request the US deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) to South Korea, over China’s objections. Talks on the deployment began March 5. The US military will be in command of THAAD batteries sent to South Korea.

US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in a prepared statement, “We call again on North Korea to refrain from actions that further raise tensions in the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its international commitments and obligations.” He added that the US would continue to “coordinate closely” with South Korea and Japan.